Tissue maker must not chop trees for product,
environmentalists say
By Laban Pelz
The Collegian
Greenpeace took the Free Speech
Area Thursday to condemn Kleenex maker Kimberly-Clark, the world’s
largest tissue product manufacturer, for destroying an ancient forest
to make its product.
“They use 100 percent pure virgin fiber for their product,”
said forest advocate and Fresno State political science senior Evelyn
Gutierrez. “They take pride in this.”
Greenpeace and other groups say Kimberly-Clark and other companies get
their wood from the Boreal Forest, which stretches from Newfoundland through
the middle Canadian provinces and up to into Alaska.
Gutierrez said Kimberly-Clark is clear-cutting through these woods.
“There is such a thing as sustainable logging, but this is what
they choose to do,” she said.
Greenpeace worker Lindsay Allen said an ancient forest is simply one that
remains undisturbed by people. Twenty-five million acres are cleared a
year, she said, while 20 percent of the world’s ancient forest remains.
Gutierrez said all of that percentage is in Canada, as the Boreal Forest
is the last of the ancient forests.
She also said the forest itself is not the only thing harmed by clear-cutting.
Animals like wolves and bears are hurt, as are indigenous tribes.
Gutierrez said Thursday’s small demonstration was part of a national
day of action designed to get corporations to use recycled or forest-friendly
content. She said Home Depot practices the same type of deforesting in
the Amazon rainforest.
Allen said Weyerhouser, which supplies Xerox copy machines with pulp,
also uses virgin fiber and the pages of Victoria’s Secret catalog
are also made from clear-cut wood.
She said Cascade has switched in the past couple years to using post-consumer
paper, and said Kimberly-Clark hasn’t changed “because they
haven’t heard from consumers.”
Allen said the company thinks its tissue is softer using virgin product,
but said a consumer study shows people don’t care.
She also said people are generally willing to pay more for recycled tissue.
Gutierrez said 42 students signed a petition saying they would boycott
Kimberly-Clark until the company uses post-consumer material.
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